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Fine Italian Cuisine - Extensive Oregon Wine List
Located
in old downtown McMinnville, Nick's Italian Café is
a more than 30-year-old legend...
an Oregon wine-country institution championed by winemakers and travelers
alike. In fact, Nick's grew up
When Nick Peirano started the restaurant, his father Raymond and mother Georgia helped in the early years. Today, his daughters Carmen and Tomiko continue the tradition of family involvement, with Carmen and her husband Eric taking over chef responsibilities following Nick's "retirement" in 2007. Following their cooking experiences at Quince in San Francisco (among the best restaurants the Bay area has to offer), Eric and Carmen spent six months cooking in Italy, to prepare them for taking over Nick's. Nick's
Italian Café serves
a five-course, price-fixed dinner,
although you are
always welcome to choose fewer courses a la carte. This multi-course,
fixed-menu-dinner format was borrowed from many fine restaurants in the
North Beach section of San Francisco, where Nick -- a third generation
Italian-American -- and his family often dined.
Carmen (4th generation Italian American) and Eric continue the tradition
with
menu changes throughout the week according to the whims of the kitchen and the
season's availability of fresh goods and produce. No
matter the menu, however,
it is always designed with the delicious wines of the Willamette Valley in
mind. The Wine As a founding director of Oregon's world-renowned International Pinot Noir Celebration, Nick Peirano benefited from his involvement as board member and chef for this event to make the choices for his now notorious wine list. Pinot noir lovers are not likely to find a restaurant with a better selection, by the glass and by the bottle, including more than 85 Pinot noirs, many from older vintages. The caliber of the regional wine list at Nick's Italian Cafe is no accident. The near-celebrity status of both Nick and his wine-program manager Jim Biddle insures the continuing respect commanded by this restaurant's wine list. The light of Jim's fame began to shine with his award-winning wine program at the legendary Atwaters restaurant, formerly located on the 30th-floor of downtown Portland's Bancorp Tower. Happily for diners at Nick's (legendary in its own right), the wines are selected by both Nick and Jim who employ extensive wine knowledge and keen understanding of the importance of soil types and terroir as they seek distinctive premium wines. Some of the Oregon producers on Nick's wine list include:
Banquet and Catering Services Nick's offers both on-premise banquet facilities and off-premise catering services. The warmth of the restaurant's banquet room features one-hundred-year-old brick walls with wainscoting, a room that also hosts evenings of live music (usually drawing from Portland's strong jazz scene) and occasional winemaker dinners. The Banquet Room comfortably seats 45 people for a served, multi-course dinner, but buffet and lighter meals are also available. While specializing in catering service for groups of 20 to 200, Nick's also caters in private homes, at the beautiful wineries in the Willamette Valley, and at variety of other feasible sites. "We'll gladly work with you to tailor a menu that suits the needs of your group." What They're Saying About Nick's
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with
the wine industry, quickly becoming a favorite gathering place for many of
the area's winemakers. The wine list at this wine-country hot spot
reflects that relationship. 
the
bountiful produce of the Pacific Northwest to create dishes suggestive of
Northern Italy.
